Dan Russo of Hagaman chips out of the sand on the second hole during the final round of golf in the Capital Stroke Play on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014, at Schuyler Meadows Club in Loudonville, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) less

Dan Russo of Hagaman chips out of the sand on the second hole during the final round of golf in the Capital Stroke Play on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014, at Schuyler Meadows Club in Loudonville, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / ... more

Dan Russo has watched them come and watched them go. In the end, though, the challengers to his crown never stick around long.

The 56-year-old golfer proved again Saturday that nobody else in the area is in his class by cruising to a four-stroke victory in the Capital Region Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Schuyler Meadows Club.

Russo posted a solid 73 to go along with his 74 on Friday for a 147 total, which provided a comfortable cushion for the talented veteran from Hagaman, near Amsterdam.

"I didn't hear any buzzing from up front, so I figured I was OK," said Russo, who played in Saturday's final threesome with Austin Teal and Mike Wheeler.

Russo, who has dominated the competition for two decades now, added his 15th area major to his championship belt with this latest victory.

More important to him, Saturday's win gives him an exemption into the New York State Golf Association's Men's Mid-Amateur Championship later this summer and the NYSGA's Men's Amateur Championship in 2015.

"It's nice getting the exemptions," Russo said. "I was playing good for a change. I didn't take any chances."

Russo's steady play proved too much for Jim Mueller of Altamont to make any kind of threatening move. Mueller shot a sparkling 74 on Saturday to finish runner-up with a 77-74 for 151 but actually lost a stroke to Russo.

Austin Teal of Loudonville, winner of the Schuyler Meadows Men's Championship in 2012 and now a junior and standout golfer at Endicott College, finished third with 74-78 for 152. Jim Bologna of Albany also posted a 152, but Teal was given the nod for third after the two matched cards.

But it was Russo who was in control throughout. His 73 on Saturday could just as easily have been a 68. Russo had no less than five tap-in par putts on the back nine. All five came within inches of birdies.

It started on the 10th, when Russo almost drove the green on the 310-yard, par-4 hole. After chipping to within eight feet, his putt rolled to the lip and hung there.

"I'm still wondering why it didn't drop," Russo said.

He also had makeable birdie putts on the 14th, 15th, 16th and 18th holes. All of them stopped just short of the hole or slid past by an inch or two.

Ironically, the only birdie Russo did convert on the back nine was the most difficult to make. It came on the 188-yard, par-3 12th.

"Yeah, I was kidding Austin (Teal) and Mike (Wheeler), because they put their tee shots within a couple of feet of the hole," Russo said. "Meanwhile, I was off the green but managed to chip it in."

Only the treacherous 17th hole gave Russo any trouble Saturday. After his tee shot landed in the left bunker, he was forced to lay up short on his approach. The pin was placed to resemble a drain in a bathtub, so only a reckless gambler would go for it.

"I've had my ball go back and forth a few times on that hole," Russo admitted. "So I played it safe."

Instead of chipping, he rolled the ball up the steep slope of the green and past the hole, then putted cautiously twice for a rare bogey.

"This just proves you don't have to trick anything up," Russo said. "Second of all, this is a great course. It's stupid to try and overpower it."

Austin Teal, who shared the lead with Russo after the first day, got off to a shaky start Saturday but exhibited his shot-making talent on the back nine with booming drives and deadly putting, capped by a satisfying birdie on 18.